Smokey Mountain Breakdown

I love this time of year. It's freezing, but the first signs of spring begin to arrive in the form of seed and hatchery catalogs. Often, I'll sit in front of the wood stove and go through these, thinking of the promise of planting season and what sort of wonderful things I'll plant. I forget the relentless heat, the weeding, the bugs and the black widow spiders that live under my watermelons. Somehow, I manage to put all of that into some repressed memory zone. Every spring is a new spring for Rosie.

It was the handsome squash pictured that brought me to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. It’s a Galeux D’Eysines. I had forgotten that I had put myself on their mailing list.

I was completely blown away by this catalog. I knew they carried a huge selection of heirlooms, but it didn’t really sink in how extensive a selection they carried until this catalog arrived on Christmas day.

The photography is stunning. The entire catalog is a treat for the eyes. All sorts of rare cultivars are lovingly photographed in startling detail.

There are 13 pages of heirloom tomatoes in all colors, including the rare greens, whites and purples. They have most of the Asian vegetables and edible gourds. More squashes, pumpkins, peppers and interesting vegetables you have never heard of from all over the world. If vegetables aren’t your thing, they also have herbs; medicinal, culinary and I even saw at least one dye herb.

I’m very impressed with them and they seem like good folks, so I thought I’d share them with you. You should request a catalog from them. If you don’t get another seed catalog all year, this is the one to go for. Some of the rare items are limited so it’s a good idea to go ahead and put your order in early.